“This site may harm your computer” Message in Google Search Results

Last week, we talked about the “This site may be hacked” warning.  Today, we are going to discuss something similar, but quite different: the “This site may harm your computer” warning.

So what’s the difference?  Both sound bad, don’t they?  Well, they both are, but for different reasons.

When you visit a site that displays this particular warning, Google is telling you that the site may be able to infect and/or install malicious software on your computer via your web browser.  This means that by simply viewing the site in Internet Explorer, Chrome, or Firefox, etc, the site could inject code into your system.  You wouldn’t even necessarily need to install a program – sometimes, by simply allowing the site to load in your browser, the damage has already been done.

As always, you should run antivirus software on your system that scans web traffic as well as system files. This way, if you do come across a bad site, the antivirus should block the malicious code from infecting your computer.  Of course, no antivirus software is 100% fool-proof, so always heed Google’s warning before proceeding to a known bad site!

If the damage has already been done and your system is infected, you will need professional help to get it cleaned up.  While PC repair is not a service that i3 provides, we do partner with some great companies that can remedy the situation for you.  Drop us a note and we’ll refer you to someone we know and trust.

So how do you get the bad stuff off of your website, if you’re a website owner and are getting this warning? This is where i3 can help.  We have a trained team of experts that know security – we implement the toughest security standards on our own equipment, and we can help if your site has been compromised.  We start by doing an analysis of which files have been infected, what type of infection has occurred, and what the best remedy will be.

Sometimes, it’s as simple as removing a code injection. Other times, it can be much more complex; requiring a full upgrade and security patching of your CMS (content management system), and a find-and-replace of all modified files.  The scope of the job depends completely on the size of the infection.

If your site has been hacked or infected, contact i3 today to see how we can help.